Beau Baby Photographyhttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com
Maternity, Newborn, Baby & Family Photographer based in Norwich.Tue, 20 Feb 2018 20:58:27 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/cropped-Sarah-Osman-online-27-32x32.jpgBeau Baby Photographyhttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com
3232Mini Sessions…what exactly are they??https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/mini-sessions/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/mini-sessions/#respondFri, 26 Jan 2018 15:07:17 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=13686Mini Session or Premium Session? It occured to me lately that in the world of photography we throw around lits of different terms relating to our sessions which might be fairly confusing! In January i ran a set of ‘mini sessions’ for babies aged 4-10 months and I was asked a few times ‘what’s a […]

It occured to me lately that in the world of photography we throw around lits of different terms relating to our sessions which might be fairly confusing! In January i ran a set of ‘mini sessions’ for babies aged 4-10 months and I was asked a few times ‘what’s a mini session’. Read on to find out the difference between my session types, from premiuim to mini.

What is a Mini Session?

Many photographers, myself included, run mini sessions every now and then. Often they are seasonal, or themed, but they are pretty much always a pre-determined set which doesn’t change between clients. Clients come in back to back, often every 20/30 minutes and the session is about capturing as much as we can in the pre-determined time frame….mini sessions will never run over because of the delay it causes to the subsequent bookings. They availability on these sessions is usually very limited and the price is low compared to standard sessions. It’s a great option for those who are budget conscious!

So what does your Premium option include that a mini session doesn’t?

Lets look at older babies as mini sessions for newborns or a cake smashes are not possible (newborns due to feeding/settling requirmenets and cake smashes due to mess!!). My older Baby Portraiture Sessions are 90 minutes long and are styled around your preferences, props can be bought in especially, siblings get invoplved and always a family portrait too! Just to confuse things I do offer a mini premium session, which is slightly shorter as silings and family portraits aren’t included but all of the personalisation, additional styling, luxury touches are the same. For both of these premium sessions you do pay a higher rate – you are paying for personlaised styling, for advanced editing, for additional prop purchases, for time, for all of the little extras…..but this way you get images styled in a way that suit you, your family and your home.

When do you run mini sessions?

January was the first month that I ran non-themed mini sessions and they were incredibly popular! I may start doing them more regularly….

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/mini-sessions/feed/05 ‘luxury’ extras for mummies-to-behttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/luxuries-for-mummies-to-be/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/luxuries-for-mummies-to-be/#respondSat, 20 Jan 2018 20:32:54 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=13634the ‘essentials’ list I don’t know about you but I constantly see ‘must have’ lists for mums to be, the lists that tell you what to put in your hospital bag, the lists that tells what you absolutely can’t live without and the lists that tell you how you should parent your child. These lists […]

I don’t know about you but I constantly see ‘must have’ lists for mums to be, the lists that tell you what to put in your hospital bag, the lists that tells what you absolutely can’t live without and the lists that tell you how you should parent your child. These lists annoy me. So I made a new list, a list of luxuries for mummies-to-be that, if you are so inclined, you might enjoy whilst your are expecting your new baby, or once your baby has arrived.

1. natural skincare

This one is close to my heart. I have spent the best part of 2.5yrs and many many hours researching the effects of varying chemicals on the body. I have researched nigh on everything that goes on or near my children and have found a few natural, safe alternative products/brands that I am happy do not cause any toxicity to my very precious little people. One of those brands is Tropic Skincare. I would urge anyone with children to research the products you use on them, from bubble bath to nappy cream, baby lotion to wet wipes – there is a fabulous app available for download called ‘Think Dirty’ which rates products from 1-10 on their level of toxicity and carcinogen value. I believe so passionately in this that I am an Ambassador for Tropic skincare, so should you have any questions please do get in touch or join my Facebook Group.

2. pregnancy yoga

I have done pregnancy yoga twice before, and I hope to do it again this time – I should point out that pregnancy is the only time that I practice yoga! It has been a fabulous way of relaxing as pregnancy progresses, a little bit of ‘me time’ and a really lovely calm environment in which to connect with the little bubbas in my belly. I have connected with the lovely Kelly over at Blossom Bumps Norwich who you can find on Facebook. I’m yet to meet someone who hasn’t loved pregnancy yoga once they’ve tried it!

3. castings

Either for your bump or once baby is born I absolutely LOVE castings. Those who have been to the studio may have seen the castings we have of our own children’s hands & feet on the wall in our hallway. Not only are they utterly gorgeous, they are a really tangible reminder of just how small they were. Locally we have a wonderful lady over at Beloved Castings and Charms who creates just the most divine castings at her studio. I had the privilege of meeting her at an event earlier this year and these pieces were simply stunning!

4. Maternity and Newborn Portraits

Now it would seem a little silly for me NOT to mention this as a little added luxury. For me, images that capture this time in your lives are about making time stand still, they are about being transported back to a time where you can still smell what your baby smelt like, and feel their tiny little puffs of breath…even 10 years later. As with everything you get what you pay for, and newborn photography is no different. You may not ‘see’ these extras in your package options (things such as high level of training, safety measures, knowledge of babies, skills in post production quality equipment, beautiful packaging etc), but I can guarantee you someone who takes their profession seriously in this industry will charge accordingly for these things. I am so unbelievably privileged to be trusted by so many families to create these memories for them – it truly is an honour. You can check out my Facebook Page for some images from my latest sessions.

5. Private Scans

Who’s had a 3D scan? I have had 2 now (once in this pregnancy to confirm this little ones gender) and one when I was pregnant with my son. I can’t even begin to explain the experience. Most recently we visited PAMS 3D Baby Imaging Clinic…and honestly I will never go to or recommend another clinic to my clients. Not only do we have some crazily clear photos of our little one (2D & 3D) but we also received a really thorough checking over. The whole experience is mind-blowing…I must have said ‘wow’ at least 5 times!!

If any of these ‘luxuries’ resonate with you, nip over and check out the relevant websites and Facebook pages (linked) for more information!

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/luxuries-for-mummies-to-be/feed/0Ask The Newborn Photographer: What’s the deal with Hypnobirthing?https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-hypnobirthing/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-hypnobirthing/#respondMon, 14 Aug 2017 19:32:13 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=12042Hypno – what? Hypnobirthing is a technique that encourages deep relaxation and breathing techniques for a calmer birth. Many people view it as the best thing they ever did, whereas many view it as mumbo jumbo….what I’ve never come across is someone who chose to hypnobirth who regrets it. The thing about hypnobirthing is that […]

Hypnobirthing is a technique that encourages deep relaxation and breathing techniques for a calmer birth. Many people view it as the best thing they ever did, whereas many view it as mumbo jumbo….what I’ve never come across is someone who chose to hypnobirth who regrets it.

The thing about hypnobirthing is that it isn’t all about the birth. Now, at the point I must declare that I am not an expert on hypnobirthing. I am a mother who has hynobirthed 2 babies and I am a Newborn Photographer who has spoken to countless mummies, some of whom have hypnobirthed and some who haven’t.

What’s it all about?

Hypnobirthing is designed to lead you toward a calm and relaxed birth. It aims to allow the mother to remain in control during her birth experience and to enjoy it (yes, I said enjoy it!). The process of learning hypnobirthing teaches you the natural physiology of birth and seeks to disperse some of the myths and horror stories that so many expectant mums are subjected to.

Although the ‘ideal’ may be to have a medically unmanaged, natural birth we ALL know that this often is not the way it goes…and thank goodness! Without the amazing interventions we have available to us in this day and age mummies and their baby’s are saved every day. In my own personal experience, neither of my births has been ‘ideal’. Both were medically managed in one way or another, and my vision of what hypnobirthing would be like was very quickly flung into the delivery room wall! In saying this I still used the techniques I had learned; the breathing techniques certainly helped me calm down at various points. But the biggest thing that hypnobirthing did for me personally was build a relationship with my unborn baby. When learning the techniques, the connection you create with your baby is amazingly strong – almost as if you are speaking to each other.

Where can i find out more?

There are a whole wealth of resources online, but nothing beats face to face training with a certified hypnobirth teacher. Check out websites such as hypnobirthing.co.uk or hypnobirthing-uk.com for details (from the experts) on what hypnobirthing is and what it can offer you.

Parting advice

As with everything to do with your baby, research is your friend. If you choose to look in to hypnobirthing, contact a few providers and talk to them. Do you like them? Do they make you feel at ease and comfortable? Could you really let go and relax in their company? My advice here applies to all things ‘newborn’, just like you wouldn’t pick the first Newborn Photographer you cam across don’t just presume all hypnobirthing practitioners are the same.

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-hypnobirthing/feed/0Why I Became A Baby Photographer And Why I Love Ithttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/became-baby-photographer-love/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/became-baby-photographer-love/#respondSat, 05 Aug 2017 20:01:39 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=10635Baby Photographer – the best job in the world? I’m really lucky – I do a job that I love. I mean LOVE! I’m one of those lucky ones. It is a true joy to be a Baby Photographer. I don’t really remember a time in my life that I haven’t had a camera strapped […]

I’m really lucky – I do a job that I love. I mean LOVE! I’m one of those lucky ones. It is a true joy to be a Baby Photographer.

I don’t really remember a time in my life that I haven’t had a camera strapped to my hand – I remember my Dad buying my first DSLR, a good old trusty Sony. That camera saw me through years and years of self-teaching. In the years that I have been taking pictures, I have photographed so many different things – all of them beautiful in their own way but when I first took pictures of someone’s baby and saw how those images made them feel I knew that was it. I’d found my specialism.

and so it begun…..

I spent a few years capturing images of friends (and friends of friends) babies whilst working full time, for free, just because I loved it. It wasn’t until my own daughter was born in 2013 that I felt it was something that I could do ‘as a job’. I knew I didn’t want to go back to corporate life – it had quashed all creativity I once possessed. I started doing some work with a local girl so I could get a foot in the door – as much as this was a great opportunity, it just didn’t fit. I had to return to my previous job for various reasons and the style I was shooting in didn’t excite me.

I continued to photograph for friends and family quite regularly until 2015 when my son was born. I made my children a promise that they would have the best of me, and I knew that they would get that by me following my heart. Cue a very big and scary jump following my maternity leave, and that’s how Beau Baby was born.

…and here it continues….

So really I am a Baby Photographer because it’s what I love to do and I wanted my children to grow up knowing that I followed my dreams, as I hope they do – however scary it is.

Why do I love it?

Let me paint the picture for you:

– Excited parents can’t wait for the arrival of their baby – they find their perfect photographer (yippe, that’s me!), and they book their Newborn Session a few months in advance (see my blog post on this here). It’s all very exciting and there’s so much to look forward to!

– Over the course of the next month or so, emails are exchanged and planning begins. Still so exciting and they can’t wait to meet their baby.

– Fast forward a few months and baby arrives. WOW – Mummy is sore. WOW – this is hard. WOW – we are tired. I really don’t want my photo taken. We’ll never get out of the house on time. The baby’s just going to feed the whole time. I want to stay at home. The reality of new parenthood has hit and the concept of leaving the house for a photoshoot of all things is so very far down on the list of things that sounds appealing. But out they come, tired, weary and pretty close to tears through sheer exhaustion.

– Job number one – a cup of tea (or coffee) and some biscuits….and a chat. Everyone starts to relax a little.

– We chat and we laugh. We choose colours and props. I coo over baby (it doesn’t matter how many I see…they always amaze me!), and Mummy starts to glow a little with pride. Dad is usually still a bit indifferent at this stage…time for more biscuits!

– I wrap and pose baby, handing them back to Mum for feeds. Inviting both parents to adore their newborn bundle of squish in the adorable outfits and snuggly poses. This is where Daddy starts grinning like a Cheshire Cat!

– For a few hours, we gently rock and sway and ssshhh our way though a beautiful session. By the end we know that these pictures are going to be incredible. A Mummy & Daddy who walked in a few hours earlier weary and tired, leave with a spring in their step and excitement bubbling for the images to be ready.

– A couple of weeks later I see them again. Everyone looks more refreshed. A little more calm and collected. I sense the excitement at seeing their images.

– I switch on the Gallery Slideshow Video and leave the room to make tea (tea really is the best medicine!), and come back in to tears of joy rolling down Mummy’s face. Daddy does the ‘throat clear & readjust’ – you know the one when they are trying to keep it together. And that moment – that one right there – is why I love being a baby photographer.

As parents we know that bringing new life into this world is by far one of the most challenging things we will ever do. And those first few weeks can be a real rollercoaster. I am in such an amazingly privileged position to be able to not only share a few precious moments with this family and their new baby, but to be able to offer them these lifetime memories. There is nothing like it in the world.

So there you have it, just a little insight into why I’m a Baby Photographer, and why I think I’m the luckiest person to be doing it.

Rx

If you are interested in booking your own Newborn Portraits, just click here.

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/became-baby-photographer-love/feed/0Post Natal Depression – the beast with the silver lininghttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/post-natal-depression/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/post-natal-depression/#respondMon, 31 Jul 2017 19:30:38 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=9869It won’t happen to me There’s no way I’d have ever thought I would get post natal depression. I’ve always been a ‘strong woman’. Since my late teens I’ve been fairly self assured, outwardly reasonably confident, focused, driven. You get the picture. When I graduated from University my career became my drive. I landed a […]

There’s no way I’d have ever thought I would get post natal depression. I’ve always been a ‘strong woman’. Since my late teens I’ve been fairly self assured, outwardly reasonably confident, focused, driven. You get the picture.

When I graduated from University my career became my drive. I landed a management position in the largest Leisure Centre in the U.K., & worked my backside off until I was Centre Manager. A strong willed, strong minded, business focused woman.

After my first baby was born I remember being thrown head first into this turmoil of ‘she isn’t doing what the books say she should be’, ‘I haven’t showered in days’, ‘why is she screaming at me?’, ‘I can’t do this!’…I had no control & I didn’t like it! The media had convinced me that I could have it all, be a good Mum, keep a spotless house, look good, see friends and all that jazz. But I seemed to be ballsing it up fairly impressively! I was miserable. I loved my baby, my god I loved my baby, but this was not what I had anticipated! I thought I’d be all over this parenting thing….boy was I wrong!

With baby number 1 I had the baby blues. I was miserable, doubting myself, couldn’t work out why I couldn’t get my shit together. But after a few weeks I started to feel better & came out the other side. A few months later I came across the cause of my issues as I was ‘grieving’ the birth experience I had longed for & a breastfeeding journey I had so badly wanted that just didn’t work out. That’s a story for another time.

So when baby number 2 arrived 18 months later I was aware that I might struggle a bit. I had prepped my family & friends to look out for me falling into that dark place. Little did I know that that was the tip of the iceberg.

I have no shame in talking about my post natal depression. It’s a taboo subject for some, but for me it was a turning point. An eye opener. A realisation, an epiphany if you will.

Many if you will know that my son was poorly, and remained so for many months. The screaming for 20 hours each day & night certainly was an enormous contributing factor to my mental health issues. To this day I suffer with post traumatic stress issues and suffer with flashbacks if I hear a baby really crying.

For me, postnatal depression was lonely. I was surrounded by support but I felt completely alone. I was very close to packing myself & my son up, and leaving my daughter with her dad so she could have a better Mummy one day. On more than one occasion I started packing. This turned into feeling worthless to both of my children & my husband and truly believing they would all be better without me. I was failing them beyond words, so I thought.

There were very dark times where I wished it was over. Wished my son didn’t have to hurt anymore. Wished I didn’t have to live through it. I won’t spell it out but you can imagine where my head was.

There are a few occasions I remember vividly that I will share with you:

– When my son was very little, 4 weeks or so I guess, I was trying to get to a breastfeeding support group. He was screaming in the back of the car. Screaming so hard he had gone silent. And purple. I thought he had died. I sat in my car clutching my baby to me for 2.5 hours, rocking, screaming, wishing it all to be over. Thought about opening the door & throwing both of us in front of the next car. Nobody stopped that day. Not one person looked in & thought ‘whoa, that’s not right! I’ll see if they’re ok’. I will never walk on by again.

2. I have no idea how old my baby was. I remember my husband was trying to leave for work to it must have been around 6am. The screaming had started. I didn’t respond. I froze. Then I broke. I looked like the stereotypical ‘crazy person’, I was rocking furiously, pulling my hair, sobbing, not engaging. God knows how he (my husband) got through that. I scared myself that day.

3. Baby must have been about 10 weeks old. We had been to a friends house to celebrate their sons first birthday. The screaming started when we got in the car, as it always did. I had both kids in the car & was in rush hour traffic. My toddler was getting impatient & the baby was screaming. I lost my mind, whilst driving a car. I was screaming at the other road users, my kids were scared, I remember seeing incoming traffic & contemplated swerving into it. Thank the lord I had someone watching over me that day. I got us home by talking to myself, telling myself I was ok. That the kids were ok and that we were nearly home. I walked through my front door clutching my baby, sobbing. I didn’t speak for hours. Just held him, rocked with him & sobbed.

There were many more instances but these are the three that stick in my brain. I still think about number 1 every time I pass that layby. He is 2 now and it’s still the same.

Its hard to look back on and realise how sick I was. But there was hope. Is hope for anyone suffering this awful illness.

its not weakness. It’s not silly. It’s serious & dangerous at times.

Thankfully I have an amazing husband who got me sorted, by seeking help on my behalf. Without that my children would not have a Mummy.

Learn the signs of PND. Watch for them in yourself, your partner & your friends. Seek help. Carry no shame. Create a support network and most importantly be honest.

I am thankful for my illness. It’s made me who I have become-someone who has little interest in material possessions, volunteers a lot of time to charity, thanks whoever or whatever it may be that watches over me for a second chance and it led to the beginning of the Beau Baby Photography journey. I couldn’t be more grateful for the lessons I learned.

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/post-natal-depression/feed/0Ask The Newborn Photographer: Cloth Nappies – whats the deal?https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-cloth-nappies/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-cloth-nappies/#respondThu, 27 Jul 2017 17:31:07 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=9215Ask the newborn photographer As a newborn photographer you may not expect to read a blog post from me on the topic of cloth nappies, but I am also a mum so it’s something I have looked in to and researched for my own kiddies. I thought I’d start an information blog series discussing many […]

As a newborn photographer you may not expect to read a blog post from me on the topic of cloth nappies, but I am also a mum so it’s something I have looked in to and researched for my own kiddies. I thought I’d start an information blog series discussing many of the things I discuss with new parents in the studio.

Why blog about cloth nappies?

The recent Facebook post about babies suffering burn from a batch of Asda’s Little Angels nappies has caused a bit of a stir since it went viral, and has led to an information post being released about exactly what is in the nappies that most of use every day.

Now, I’m considered a bit of a ‘hippy mum’ when it comes to researching and limiting my littlies exposure to chemicals, but it had never really occurred to me that nappies would be full of chemicals that sit right up against their skin all day and all night for a good 3 years of life!

As with many of the things I have become aware of and now limit my children’s exposure to, I only really started investigating cloth nappies about a year ago, by which point I felt (for us) that the investment probably would not be an economical decision.

On that note I thought I’d write a quick blog post about cloth nappies – what they are, how to start using them and how they aren’t probably what you imagine them to be.

Cloth nappies – what are they?

Back when I was a baby a cloth nappy was a piece of terry towelling that was pinned with safety bins, and had a thick liner. They were bulky and pretty unattractive! These days these washable and reusable nappies come in every possible design and colour, they come with Velcro or popper fastening, pre formed to a ‘standard’ nappy shape, and you don’t have to scrape poo (there are a range of either disposable liners or reusable liners available); they are slightly bulkier than a disposable nappy but nowhere near as chunky as they used to be. In fact I’d go so far as to say that you wouldn’t pick out a ‘cloth bum’ baby in a line up of tiny tot bottoms!

It’s no secret that the initial investment in ‘cloth bumming’ is considerably higher than with disposables, but it is worth noting that because they grow with your child and are reusable that over the course of your child being in nappies you are set to save quite a considerable amount of money by using cloth nappies, around £250 compared to upward of £600 with disposables.

What are the benefits vs the negatives?

This is personal really. Many people would say that the pure convenience of a disposable nappy outweighs anything else when you’ve got a small person attached to you, whereas others would say that cost saving or lessened environmental impact of using cloth nappies makes it a clear choice for them.

Things to look at would be initial investment, long term investment, chemical exposure, environmental impact, ease of use, ease of disposal, and how either option would impact on your every day.

Many people I know who use cloth nappies also carry disposables for circumstances where convenience is key. Along with so many aspects of parenting (breastfeeding, for example) there is this opinion that it must be an ‘all or nothing’ decision, which simply isn’t true.

I’d like to give them a try – where do I start?

There is a fabulous article on choosing reusable nappies by BabyCentre which is well worth a read. It discuss the different types of cloth nappy available, along with pros and cons and discussed the financial impact.

To get started with ‘cloth bumming’ I would recommend looking at the following resources:

My best advice for anyone who is considering purchasing cloth nappies is to make use of The Nappy Lady’s free, no obligation, advice service – it really is the best way to get started in what can seem like a confusing world of reusable nappies!

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/blog/ask-newborn-photographer-cloth-nappies/feed/0The Truthful Mummy – time is flying!https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-time-flying/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-time-flying/#respondWed, 26 Jul 2017 19:33:14 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=9064I started my hypnobirthing last week with a lady called Jane Sheeran. I’m booked in for three sessions as I decided to go privately rather than in a group. I didn’t think if be able to open up as much as I needed to in a room full of other couples and you also always […]

]]>I started my hypnobirthing last week with a lady called Jane Sheeran. I’m booked in for three sessions as I decided to go privately rather than in a group. I didn’t think if be able to open up as much as I needed to in a room full of other couples and you also always get that one annoying person who talks too much in groups!! My first session went really well, Jane talked through the hypnobirthing history and process with me and we then practiced breathing techniques. She also put me into a state of deep relaxation (on the verge of hypnosis) which was quite strange as it felt as though I had fallen asleep. I’ve had to practice the breathing and relaxation daily which has been helping with life in general, I’ve had 2 exams over the last couple of weeks and the added stress of preparing to move house! I’m now feeling really positive about the birth and looking forward to putting the hypnobirthing into practice. Now I just need to get my husband on board, I’ve already told him that if he doesn’t take it seriously he can stay at home!! During my last labour he chose the moment that I was vomiting and having very painful and intense contractions to disappear down to the canteen and reappear with a chicken sandwich which he sat and ate next to me… I still haven’t forgiven him!

I believe that relaxation during pregnancy is really important. During my last pregnancy I was a case study for a reflexologist and found that the treatment really balanced out my hormones and helped with lots of aches and pains. I ended up becoming good friends with Natalie who runs Sensitive Soles Therapies and she even used some bowen techniques on Isaac when he was tiny which always followed with a good night’s sleep! Unfortunately, I can’t have reflexology as often this time round as I did last time as I’m now a paying customer but I look forward to it even more so as I appreciate the ‘me time’ and feel so relaxed afterwards.

Time is flying so quickly this pregnancy. Last time it felt like my due date would never arrive and now I would be quite happy for time to slow down a bit. My son will be two in a week which is just crazy, however as he’s growing up so much more each week I’m definitely feeling more ready for baby number 2 and less guilty as I really think he’s going to love having a little brother.

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-time-flying/feed/0The Truthful Mummy Pregnancy Blog-Pregnant on Holidayhttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-pregnancy-blog-pregnant-on-holiday/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-pregnancy-blog-pregnant-on-holiday/#respondSun, 02 Jul 2017 12:00:45 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=5515Pregnant on Holiday…..with a toddler!! So I was pregnant on holiday! We spent last week in Majorca with my side of the family. We booked a lovely 4 star all inclusive, and had been looking forward to it for ages. The week started off well, my son and his cousin who turned 1 in March […]

Pregnant on Holiday…..with a toddler!!

So I was pregnant on holiday!

We spent last week in Majorca with my side of the family. We booked a lovely 4 star all inclusive, and had been looking forward to it for ages. The week started off well, my son and his cousin who turned 1 in March loved the water parks and slides and we all ate lots of ice cream and your usual rubbish buffet food. I can’t say it was the most relaxing holiday I’d ever been on as had to keep my eyes on him at all times and couldn’t wind down with a strong drunk in the evenings but was great to have all the family together. The second night at 11pm, sickness began! My son was vomiting all night and into the next day but when he wasn’t being sick he was fine and full of his usual energy so we put it down to too much sun and sugar. The following night he was sick twice again and by the morning had lost all energy just wanting to sleep, I also noticed he wasn’t having any wet nappies so started to worry so we took him to the medical centre who sent us straight to A&E for him to be put on a drip as he was so dehydrated. This is where we spent the next 24 hours. During this time my husband began being sick, at which point as hard as I tried to be sympathetic, I felt rage that he wasnt able to be any help. I had a very clingy toddler stuck to me stopping me from even peeing and my husband was sleeping in the bed next to us! Then my sickness began and were all diagnosed with gastroenteritis. As a precaution due to me being pregnant I was put on a drip too. I felt really fed up that we had lost 2 days of our holiday but was just glad we were all getting better. When we were finally discharged we decided to really enjoy the last few days of the holiday, in between forcing our toddler to drink water every few minutes!

Worst nightmare….

The day before we were due to fly home, a few of us took my son and his cousin for an ice cream at the poolside snack bar, Isaac then decided to walk up and down the bench he was supposed to be sitting on. As I turned my attention for a second he slipped, fell to the floor and hit his head. I picked him up and embraced his screams feeling like an awful mother for allowing him to be so adventurous when all of a sudden his crying stopped and he lost consciousness. This has got to be the scariest moment in my life so far and I’m still having flashbacks to it now but he came back to in about 10 seconds and we were sent straight back to the hospital. They checked him over and as he was totally fine, thank goodness we were discharged after 3 hours of observations. Moments like this make you realise how helpless you are as a parent and how vulnerable you can be in another country, the staff around the pool when he lost consciousness were uselesss and it was actually a teacher from England who rushed to help us and kept us calm. It has definitely made me question where we will take our children again as I will always make sure we are near a good hospital. I was definitely happy to be home this weekend with the family all in one peice!

20 week scan! It’s a……

Today we had our scan. We’ve had a dilemma for the past month of whether to find out what we are having it not, we never did with our first and were never tempted but this time I’ve felt like I need to know. I was also feeling a bit nervous about the scan as I haven’t put a single pound on yet (even after a week of all inclusive buffet food!?) and I barely feel pregnant, it really has been so much different the second time round! The sonographer confirmed the baby is healthy and no abnormalities showing as yet and also that we are expecting another boy!! Not minding what we had I feel more excited now I know, Isaac will love having a brother and will be lovely watching them grow together. I do feel that I would like a girl one day too though so maybe this won’t be the last pregnancy… Remind me of this in 6 months!!!

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-pregnancy-blog-pregnant-on-holiday/feed/0When to book your Newborn Sessionhttps://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/when-to-book/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/when-to-book/#respondFri, 23 Jun 2017 15:52:19 +0000https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/?p=4697Tell me when to book my Newborn Session! When to book is probably one of the questions I hear the most. And the answer is simple; as soon as you can! I’m guessing that you are choosing a quality photographer here, not a ‘£50 for all your digitals on CD’ type. The type that uses […]

I’m guessing that you are choosing a qualityphotographer here, not a ‘£50 for all your digitals on CD’ type. The type that uses styled & bespoke products, a variety of backgrounds & poses instead of a plain white backdrop. A photographer who will sit and hand edit every single one of your images to perfection. If you are choosing one of these photographers chances are they have very limited availability.

Limited availability here will be due not only to demand, but also to the time that is allocated to the ‘behind the scenes’ element of your session – things such as editing. For example I limit my shooting time to three sessions per week, that’s it – absolute maximum. That’s because I know that I will spend only 1/3 of the time I have allocated to you on shooting your session. The other time is dedicated to editing your images, resizing for product purchases and all of the minute details that go into creating beautiful, timeless wall art.

So back to the question at hand, when should you book? So you have a photographer who limits their availability, and who is in demand…you can see how we book up months in advance, especially at peak weekends!

A rough guide is as follows:

Maternity Portraiture

Maternity Portraiture Sessions are best captured anywhere from 30-37 weeks. You should aim to book after your 20 week scan but because the session is relatively short and you have a bigger time window to capture the shots, you should be OK with 4-8 weeks lead time.

Newborn Portraiture

Newborn Portraiture Sessions get booked for your due date. We aim to get these images within baby’s first 14 days. Most reputable photographers will only shoot one Newborn Session per day (allowing t-i-m-e to take the session at a pace suitable for a cluster feeding baby and brand new, sleep deprived parents!). Book your session after your 20 week scan and you’ll likely get a spot with your favourite baby photographer.

Baby Portraiture

Baby Portraiture Sessions are a bit more flexible. It really depends on which stage you want to capture? Do you want the ‘rolling baby holding their toes’ photo, or the ‘smiley baby sitting in a cute romper’ photo? Every age has its own adorable characteristics – as with a Maternity Session, because the session is shorter and the time window is quite lengthy a 4-8 week lead time tends to be OK.

Cake Smash

Now this one you want to get booked in well in advance – a good 3-4 months, for a couple of reasons really. Not only do you want to get the session as close to your babies birthday as possible, your photographer has a fair bit to do to prepare for your session, and they need to liaise with their cake supplier. The session and set needs to be designed and made, the cake design goes through design & proof stages, a theme may be incorporated and special props purchased…..and this is the service you should be expecting from your photographer!

Portrait photography may seem expensive, but when you consider all the time elements that go in to providing these images for you you should feel like you’ve received value for money. Things from training, equipment and insurance to software, client management systems and hosting sites (things that you may not even think about) to props, outfits, blankets, studio space and backdrops (the things you may notice), add in to that the time devoted to you and you will hopefully see the value in your purchase.

An insider piece of info for you to consider is this: per session a rule of thumb is 1/3 of the cost goes to ‘pay’ the photographer (our hourly rate if you will – all time devoted to your session; planning, shooting, editing, ordering etc), 1/3 immediately goes into the tax & NI pot and the last 1/3 pays for the products within your package.

]]>https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/when-to-book/feed/0The Truthful Mummy Pregnancy Blog #3https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-3/
https://www.beaubabyphotography.com/uncategorized/truthful-mummy-3/#respondWed, 14 Jun 2017 18:34:50 +0000https://beaubabyphotography.com/?p=3943A little catch up There’s been a couple of weeks break from the pregnancy blog, but it’s back this week! So heres a little insight into whats been going on these past few weeks: My toddler has had a heavy cold which got worse before it got better; this meant him waking every 2 hours!! […]

There’s been a couple of weeks break from the pregnancy blog, but it’s back this week! So heres a little insight into whats been going on these past few weeks:

My toddler has had a heavy cold which got worse before it got better; this meant him waking every 2 hours!! During my ‘losing the will to live’ web searches I’ve also found out there is a 2 year sleep regression which he may be going through early; I thought these regressions finished months ago. I’m not sure if it would have changed my decision to get pregnant again knowing that I was about to give up so much of my sleep but I’ve definitely had a few moments of feeling extremely fed up over the last week. The dreaded hay-fever has also begun bringing a constant sore throat and headache which are all worse when there’s not a lot you can take for them. However, the recent sunshine has definitely made me feel more positive during the day and we’ve been able to make use of the garden which I feel is much better parenting than back to back episodes of Peppa Pig, which I have guiltily sercummed to recently!

A little bit of sunshine makes everything seem better!

Hmmm….now what?

I’m still at the lull between the first scan and feeling movement which is always a strange time but apparently as it’s my second pregnancy I could start to feel kicks any time soon. As my first labour turned into a bit of a horrific experience (are they ever not!?) and ended with an emergency cesarean I am being consultant led this time. I’m not 100% sure about what this entails but I have more hospital appointments, the first one being tomorrow. From what I’ve read I think they will talk through my birth plan and if necessary I’ll be given a scan, I’m hoping I will get a scan as it’s always nice to see your baby as often as possible.

The Consultant

So, I had my Consultant appointment at the hospital. The midwife talked through what happened last time, I’d never really known what went wrong as I’d felt quite emotional about it all for a while and tried to block it out. I’d then always intended on going to the ‘Birth Reflections’ service at the hospital but time seems to run away with itself when you have a baby!!! She explained that the labour didn’t progress and my baby was in distress which is why they rushed me to theatre. We discussed that I’d really like a V-BAC this time but knowing how births never really go to plan I said I’m happy to keep my options open! I was then signed off from the consultant until 40 weeks which I hadn’t been expecting. Putting that date in the diary made everything feel a lot more ‘real’ and I definitely felt happier about the upcoming birth after this appointment.

Growing a little life inside you is amazing – putting the Due Date in the diary brings that little bit of fear though!

A bit of me time!

Last weekend I travelled up to Yorkshire with a few of my old school friends for a hen do! Even though I’d help arrange the event, I’d started to feel a tiny bit worried about the whole thing in the weeks leading up to it. How on earth was I going to stay up past 10pm two nights in a row and sleep in a ‘treehouse’ with people who had been consuming copious amounts of alcohol all day!!? However, I had an amazing time! I wasn’t the first to bed either night and seeing the hangovers the next morning I was quite glad I hadn’t been drinking. I think during your second pregnancy you just appreciate the time away spent with friends, there were certain points where I really really wished I could have had a glass of wine through!

Just one little glass would have been nice….

The blog will run every 2 weeks for now…life is so hectic with a toddler and being pregnant!